Baby chicks!

We took a trip to White Feather Farms to see the baby chicks and the bunnies. Madeline went craaaaaaazy over the bunnies. Hayden loved holding the baby chick. I loved the hand sanitizer they had on-hand for the kids to use.

Signs of spring

It was the resurrection of Pizza Night at nana and papa's. I couldn't help noticing that a little Easter Bunny got into an Easter basket when we weren't looking.

I see Spring!

We went for a walk and looked for signs of Spring. Hayden was riding his bike, so he lost interest almost immediately. But I kept looking :)

April is a promise that May is bound to keep. ~Hal Borland

New boots!

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof."
~ Kahlil Gibran~

Annie cat

Another habit that I can't explain. Madeline spends a lot of time crawling around with a tomato slice in her mouth. I have no idea why.

Flatbread

I tried making some flatbread. I love the crisp flatbread but it's pretty pricey at the grocery store. This recipe is so good. Easy to make and healthy!

Crumb Cake!

This is the one of the best cakes ever. Thank you Rose Reismann. Chocolate Chip Crumb cake....low fat and so good.

Sherman

That's what we call him. He won't go away. I think Hayden got him after a trip to the zoo; it was at least a couple of years ago. We've tried to get rid of him several times, but he keeps coming back.

Sunny Day

Maple Syrup Festival

Waiting for pancakes (it was a long line)

We took a trip to Purple Woods for some pancakes and fresh maple syrup. Yummmm. It was a loooong line, but worth it. There were so many people there- we actually had to take a shuttle bus from the overflow parking. We took the little hike through the woods to see the other displays, including the Sugar Shack where they were making syrup. It smelled so good!

Poor muffin

The picture doesn't even do justice, but poor Maddie has had a rough week. A bout of Roseola, then she fell and hit her face on the coffee table. The next day she and Hayden were playing and she slipped while she was crawling and landed on her face on the hardwood floor.

So this is Maddie covered in spots with a bruised cheek and a swollen lip :(

Happy Birthday Hayden!

We didn't have the big birthday party just yet--we've had to postpone it for a couple of reasons. But I think it was still a great day. We made a cake and Hayden helped to decorate--he told me what to write on it :) We shared some leftover icing and then he bounced off the walls for awhile. Some of the family came over for a pizza dinner and a fun evening. Hayden was pretty blown away by the gifts he received.

I can't explain why he's topless while eating chocolate icing.

The eve of Five

I didn't take a picture today. So I thought it would be a good excuse to resurrect an old photo. I'm having a hard time believing that Hayden will be 5 tomorrow. It's been FIVE years already. Each year, around the time of his birthday, I think back to where we were when he was born. And each year it feels more and more as though it was someone else that we visited in the hospital--it's just hard to believe that's the same boy.

Five years ago tonight, I was sitting in the antenatal unit at St. Joe's hospital in London. It had been five days since my water broke at home and I was back in a hospital bed playing the waiting game and wondering what would happen next. Ironically, this was the night that we had a chance to tour the NICU and get an idea of what it looked like and what our baby would look like at 29 weeks "IF" I went into labour. Little did we know just how helpful that bit of preparation would be. I went to bed that night with such a splitting headache and I was pretty sure I was coming down with something. That night was the first time that Hayden "failed" the biophysical test that they did every day. They decided to give it a day and see since it was just borderline. I went to bed and woke up at 5:15 with a pain that I immediately knew was a contraction. Strangely, it was hours later in triage before they decided "officially" that I was in labour even though I was certain of it all along.

Had I truly known at the time just how many things were not going in Hayden's favour, I'm sure I would have been more frightened. But I wasn't. I still don't know why. As strange as it sounds, I was relieved that day. I knew he wasn't safe where he was anymore and I had a job to do. And I just knew that he was going to be okay. So after 29 weeks and 2 days, Hayden was born and Scott almost missed the whole thing because he was in the cafeteria getting a BLT :)

He was born 11 weeks early, weighing 2lbs 11oz. Throughout the labour, his heartrate slowed during every contraction. The fluid levels were very low and each contraction was causing the umbilical cord to compress. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, which further decreased the circulation to him (Later on, it all made sense why the nurses weren't talking much and they weren't making eye contact with me). When he was born, he wasn't breathing and had to be resuscitated and placed on a respirator for the first 12 hours of his life. We would later find out that there was also an infection in the amniotic fluid which could have caused further complications. We knew he had been hypoxic at some point, so there was a real possibility that he could have Cerebral Palsy. When he was just a few weeks old, he would be diagnosed with NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis), a very serious infection. But he got through all of it. Add a couple more infections to the list and a blood transfusion. He did all of it. Small but mighty.

Five years later and I have to work a little more at reminding myself of just how he started out. Strong-willed? Yes he is, and thank God for that :)

Will catch up soon!

Still taking pictures but haven't had time to post them this past week...but I'll be back!

If you happen to leave a box of wipes unattended and within reach, consider them broken into.

The Office Assistant

Madeline has discovered the printer. Whenever I print something from the computer, she rushes over to grab it.

"Madeline, get me the Penske file!"

She loves Cheerios!

She really really loves them. It's about the only food I've seen her actually get excited about.

Can we talk about this?

This is my neighbour's house. It's the first thing I see when I look out the window or when I step out the front door of my house. He's such a wonderful person and a really great neighbour. But the curiousity is killing me. It's been over 2 years since he painted the garage with what we assumed was primer. But this is how it has stayed. He had just redone the shingles to match the deep red colour of the doors and shutters and then painted the garage.........mauve??!!

It puzzles me. Every day.

New Friend

Yes, it's exciting enough to warrant a photo. I adopted this new friend from Home Outfitters when it was on sale. I LOVE IT. No buckets, no chemicals, no elbow grease!

Busy in the kitchen!

So now whenever she hears one of us in the kitchen, Maddie makes a beeline. ESPECIALLY if she hears the dishwasher opening. She wants to climb on the dishwasher! I've never seen such a thing---well, other than small dogs who like to lick the dirty plates. She is SO different from Hayden who never got into things. This one is stealthy and persistent!

It was SO NICE out today! We had to get outside. This time last year I wasn't getting out of the house very much, but this year I feel extra-excited about Spring. We spent the afternoon outside and Hayden even got out his bike. It was a bit more tiring than he expected after having a break all Winter, so he's agreed to take a shorter route next time :)

Now for a movie....

I'm going to see if this works- I'm trying to post a video clip instead of a photo (a bit of a cheat!) This is what we laughed about all day. Whenever someone tells Maddie "no" or whenever she gets frustrated with someone, this is her new reaction. We milked it a bit just for fun :)

This is still the place to find her most frequently....hanging out at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for someone to slip up and forget to close the baby gate. Little jailbird.

Did someone bring home a raccoon??

One of Miss Madeline's newest hobbies. Looting the pantry when I'm in the kitchen.

Science Centre Wednesday

"How much does that cost???"

"I need money?!"

"Would you like a bag for your live lobster?"

"One cashier? These line ups are ridiculous. I bet it's a new cashier too."

Spinning

Made the trek to the Science Centre today. Not a very long drive at all, but even on a day like today, when everything goes smoothly, we still barely made it there for 3pm. Once the wee one naps and eats. We had fun though--We seem to spend most of our time in the little Market.

Family passes are good :)